First laps in the R28 championship contenderThere may have been little on track activity this morning in Valencia due to the foggy conditions, but
Fernando Alonso made a brief appearance in the new R28 championship contender.
The Renault team will officially launch
the new car at a media ceremony in Paris at the end of the month, but the former champion is to test the car this week in Spain.
Alonso tested for Renault for the first time last week in Jerez in the 2007-spec machine and is scheduled to put miles on the new car this week in Valencia. The team hope that the new technical package is more competitive than the disappointing R27 it replaces.
"Fernando will have a competitive vehicle that is capable of winning," Renault's Director of Engineering Pat Symonds said recently.
Brazilian team-mate Nelson Piquet will drive the R28 model on Thursday, the last day of testing at Valencia.
Alonso's season at McLaren was marked by an intense rivalry with team-mate Lewis Hamilton but Piquet has said he is confident he will get along with the Spanish driver.
"I met Alonso last week during the tests at Jerez and we have an excellent relationship. I'm certain that what happened last year between Alonso and Hamilton, won't happen this year," he told Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo.
Source AFP
